Asked in Civil Litigation and Consumer Law for Tennessee

Q: Do I have to pay storage and towing fees if I don't retrieve my vehicle from a private wrecker service?

Car towed by a private wrecker service from an apartment complex nearly 70 days ago

1 Lawyer Answer
Leonard Robert Grefseng
Leonard Robert Grefseng
Answered
  • Columbia, TN
  • Licensed in Tennessee

A: If you hired the towing company, you are personally liable for the towing fees. Storage is another matter, but I suspect the paperwork you signed ( if there is any) also allows them to charge a storage fee. If the apartment complex ( your landlord?) hired the towing company, you are probably not liable ( you would have to check your lease). However, in order to get your car back, you will have to pay them since they have a possessory lien on the vehicle. In other words, they can hold the vehicle until someone ( you or the landlord) pays them, so if you want your vehicle, you must pay both the tow and storage, even though you didn't hire them. If you didn't hire them and are willing to let them have the vehicle, you can just "walk away" from it.

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